Happy Birthday to Me

So today is my 31st birthday...I don't feel any older, and quite frankly feel younger than I did when I was 21. I'm in a lot better shape, y'all I wish I had my old pics somewhere. I think around 2001 I gave up on dropping the weight and trashed all my old pictures. I'm glad I didn't give up, I don't know when it hit but in May of 2006 was when I had my weight loss epiphany. I never thought I could control my portion sizes...one day I said 'f' it and started going to 5-6 smaller meals a day. That did the trick for me, I stopped feeling hungry and overindulging. At the peak I know that I weighed 178lbs, this was in 2000. I could have weighed more but that is the highest I ever knew of. In 2001 I got down to 155lbs with exercise alone. But I couldn't ever break the plateau. Between 2001 and 2006 I hovered between 155 and 165lbs. On May 14, 2006 I weighed 165lbs. By late Summer 2006 I was down to 145lbs. PORTION CONTROL was my friend. In the Fall I got engaged to the hubs but I was feeling a plateau, I had lifted weights a lot in high school so I started adding weight training back into my routine.

By the time we were married I'd gotten down to 135lbs and felt great. I don't really consider myself to be in a 'maintenance' mode. I honestly don't want to necessarily lose weight. I want to get stronger. I want my muscles stronger for lifting and running. I want my mind stronger for learning. I try hard to keep my nutrition in line because I straight up feel better when I eat better. I know that the number hasn't really changed on the scale over the last 2.5 years but I see the differences, I feel the differences in my performance.

So yeah, that was one big useless tangent. LOL. I guess it was just a recap of where I am today...

For breakfast this morning I had a big Green Monster. Same ingredients as yesterday. I have a small sample of PB2, how should I use it? I was thinking in a Green Monster, or maybe mixed with some greek yogurt and puffins? Any ideas?

For my snack I had greek yogurt, pb puffins, kashi heart to heart, and strawberries.

For my lunch I am going to eat leftovers of the delicious cheesy chicken shells from last night.

I have an amazing workout planned for after work, I wrote it all out even! Here it is, obvi weights could change.

Cardio: 5 minute warm up on tread (varied speeds)

Dip assist machine 3x10 @ 30lbs
DB Shoulder press 3x10 @ 25lb dbs

Cardio: 5 minutes gradually increasing incline @ 7.0mph

Leaning lateral raises 3x10 @ 10lb db
Supine chest press 3x10 @ 25lb dbs

Cardio: 5 minutes of speed intervals (7.0 for 40 seconds/9.0 for 20 seconds repeat)

Frog crunches 3x15
Bicycle crunches 3x25

Cardio: 15 or 20 minutes of moderate running (7.0mph or so). Depending on how much time I have and how I feel.

I almost forgot! I have a couple of new songs on my little iPod Shuffle too, I love when a new song comes on. Here are my new faves:

• El Gitano Del Amor by Latin Soul Syndicate
• Love, Sex, and Magic by Ciara (feat. Justin Timberlake - yum)
• Whatcha Think About That by The Pussycat Dolls (feat. Missy Elliott)
  

Okay I'm going to go make my lunch in a few! Have a good afternoon all!

Happy Rest Day

So I've been doing a 3 on, 1 off rotation with working out lately. I think this is best for my body, after that 3rd day of exercise I need to rest my legs. I didn't do a dang thing today and loved it. I had this rather scary looking Green Monster this morning.

Don't fear, it was delicious. I bought a huge thing of Strawberries at Costco yesterday so we are eating a lot of them right now. In the GM was:

1 cup of Cow's milk 1 scoop Optimum Nutrition vanilla whey protein powder 1 TB Trader Joe's raw creamy Almond butter 5 strawberries 1/2 frozen banana 4c spinach 1/2c frozen blueberries 1.5c crushed ice

I just haven't really been feeling like taking pics of my food, I think it makes me self conscious. Maybe more than 4 people would read my blog if I took more pics, what do you all think? Though, I eat the same stuff most every day so it really isn't exciting. I'm much better about workout blogging than food, which is true to form because I'm a good exerciser but am pretty lax about my nutrition.

For my morning snack the strawberries made another appearance....

1/2c Fage 0%
1/2c Peanut Butter Puffins
1/2 Kashi Heart to Heart cereal
6 sliced strawberries

I was starvin marvin' by lunch time...

photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Lunch was a wrap:
Morningstar Farms tomato basil pizza burger
1 Flat Out wrap
1c spinach
1/2 tomato
1 Laughing Cow Light Swiss

All grilled up because it sounded freaking good...served along side a handful of riceworks sweet chili brown rice chips.

Afternoon snack was a Kashi Honey Almond Flax bar (my least fave of the Costco variety pack, but DH won't touch 'em so someone has to eat them while he gets the nummy Trail mix ones...how is THAT fair?) and a big juicy peach.

For dinner I tried something new, I went out on a limb that the 'skid' would eat it but he isn't a super picky eater so I wasn't too worried (DH said he thought he'd eat it). Thanks to Danica for this delicious recipe! I only had a 10oz package of frozen spinach so I went double chicken (DH is a huge carnivore and I need the extra protein on my rest day). OMG, so delicious. I ate two of the shells along with about a cup of steamed broccoli and cauliflower. The 'skid' actually said (unprompted) 'This is really good!'. So two thumbs up for Danica's recipe. I used Newman's Own marinara since I haven't been to Trader Joe's in a few weeks.

I plan to eat a serving of Dreyer's Tart Honey froyo later. I picked up a tub last week because all Dreyer's was $2.99 at Safeway. I really like this but I don't like that the honey is a swirl, I wish it was more mixed in. There's definitely a tart lemon taste (which isn't suprising because there is lemon juice concentrate in the ingredient list). It doesn't compare to my fave froyo with coconut but it will do for a treat, it's a lot cheaper.

picture courtesy of Dreyer's

Okay I'm off to get some laundry done and to read some more of the latest Stephanie Plum novel, Finger Lickin' Fifteen. It's hilarious!

Happy Friday!

This Friday is extra happy, our temperatures have finally cooled off. Yesterday was a busy day for me at work and then I met my mom after work to see Jewel at Zoo Tunes. Zoo Tunes was a lot of fun, plus it benefits the Zoo...what is not to love? I would definitely go again, even if it wasn't someone I was super interested in seeing. It's a small venue, all general admission lawn seating. I was afraid that we weren't going to get any shade so it would be super hot (it was 93 when we got out of the car). Fortunately the entire West side of the lawn area has trees so we weren't in the sun for long (maybe 5 minutes).

Here is a picture of Cooper trying to stay cool! So he really only stayed like this for a few minutes before he got up. One thing I found about him is that he doesn't mind water (or maybe he was so hot he didn't care?). I would wring a towel out on him and wet him down. He also liked me putting a frozen bottle of water (wrapped in a towel) in his little cat house with him.


I'm currently enjoying a delicious Green Monster.


I have to work super late tonight for our quarterly server updates so I'm going to hit the gym for a long lunch (and take a long dinner break LOL).

Here is the workout I have planned (weights are all estimates):

Cardio: 10 minutes on treadmill
Bicep curl 3x10 @ 20lb dbs
Lat pulldown 3x10 @ 75lbs
Cable hammer curl with rope attachment 3x10 @ 40lbs
Two arm dumbbell row 3x10 @ 15 or 20lbs
Stability ball back extension
Cardio: Run on treadmill probably 2.5 miles (20 minutes) plus 5 minute cool down.

Okay, time to get to work!!!

We're Jammin'

I can't think of a better way to start a sunny Summer day than a little Bob Marley, so that's what I listened to on my way home from the gym this morning. It's going to be mucho hot here all week so early morning workouts are in my cards for the week. I find that I entirely lack motivation by about 2pm on days when it is HOT in my house, so even a gym workout is going to be in the morning.

I got up at 5am with the hubs, ate a slice of Faux-zekial cinnamon raisin toast with some blackberry preserves and headed out to the gym.

Here is my workout:

Cardio warmup: Treadmill, 7 minutes - .9 miles.

Dumbbell lateral raise 3x10 @ 15lbs
Standing Dumbbell Triceps extension 3x10 @ 20lb db

Cardio burst: 5 minutes (1 minute @ 6.0mph, 30 seconds at 10mph for 5 minutes alternating) 2 min cooldown

Dumbbell chest fly 3x10 @ 15lb dbs
Dumbbell upright row 3x10 @ 15lb dbs

Cardio burst: 5 minutes + 2minute cooldown
0:00 - 1:00 6.5mph
1:00 - 2:00 7.0mph
2:00 - 3:00 7.5mph
3:00 - 4:00 8.0mph
4:00 - 5:00 8.5mph

Dumbbell bench press 3x10 @ 30lb dbs
Pushups 3x10
Crunches 3x25

Cardio: 10 minutes on the treadmill average 7:50 pace I think. 5 minutes cooldown.

I came home and made a big bowl of yum, 1/2c Fage, 1/2c Kashi Heart 2 Heart, 1/2c Kashi Go Lean crunch, and a bunch of sliced strawberries. Sooo good.

Megan @ MegaNerdRuns is having a sweet Chobani giveaway! Check it out now. :)

Super Busy!

Today is one of those days were I just can't seem to eat enough. It's weird because it has been hot here, and I know the heat lessens the appetite of a lot of people. I wish it would reduce my appetite! I seem to eat as much as ever. Last night we ended up just going out to Thai food for dinner because we wanted to sit in the air conditioning. The hubs and I shared some chicken pad thai and chicken pad see ew. I was craving pad thai (which is rare for me...lol). It was really good though.

I came back home and chatted with my friend Brian online while the hubs went somewhere with his son. I was so tired last night from my lack of sleep the night before. I took a melatonin too, I don't know if it was just being tired but about 20 minutes later we were watching tv and I just passed out. I slept until DH's alarm without even a potty break. I usually wake up at least once to pee, I drink a lot of water and it's just par for the course. Even if I don't drink any for a few hours before bed I still wake up at some point and have to go.

I'm planning to hit the gym and Costco (need spinach) after work. It's a pretty light legs workout (okay a lot of legs, not much cardio which I'm cool with).

I had oats for b-fast this morning (1/2c oats, 3/4c water, 1/4c ff cow's milk, 1/2 mashed banana, 1 big TB natural chunky PB, and a sprinkle of Kashi Go Lean Crunch). I also had a small bowl of cold watermelon.

I had a pb cup Green Monster mid-morning. But only had about 3 cups of spinach left.

Lunch was a leftover bb burger, some pepperjack cheese, avocado, and tomato on a toasted Orowheat sandwich thin with 1 wedge of Laughing Cow Light Swiss smeared on. It was soooo good. I also ate a Kashi Trail Mix bar...I really want to eat more.

Janetha is having a sweet 100th post giveaway you should checkout!

Labor of Love

This morning was TUFF (yes, I meant to misspell tough...inside joke). I knew I had to be up at 5:30 for my run, to start work at 6:30 since I have to leave at 8:30 to pickup the 'skid' from the aeropuerto. I tried to go to sleep at 10, but of course I had another bout of insomnia (mental note: pickup melatonin tonight). I don't think I fell asleep until 11:30 or closer to midnight. The hubs overslept this morning (his alarm goes off at 4:45, which he turned OFF. I told him at 5 that it was 5 and he bit my head off....so of course I was gloating when he freaked out at 5:15 about the time). I couldn't fall back asleep so I just got up (if you can't beat 'em, join 'em).

I choked down a Kashi TLC bar because my tummy was about to eat itself. Leaving the house at 5:30am is as close to a sunrise run as you'll get in Seattle in the Summer. It was already very light out, but the sun was just starting to rise. I didn't take my running sunglasses 'cause it wasn't super bright, thankfully I didn't regret that decision.

I started off super slow, as you can see by my Garmin stats:

I think it takes a few miles for my legs to wake up. I did my fave 4.2 mile loop (with the monster hill). Some dude was hanging out the window of his truck waving at me, I seriously wonder about people sometimes. I ran to the top of our hill, and wanted to run a little more so I ran around our little neighborhood a few times. Came in the house to this:


His tummy was also eating itself...you can see their catnip banana in the background. The hubs laughed at me when I brought it home for them, but the love it. What can I say, my cats like fruit? They also LOVE their catnip cherry (they've gone through two of them, one had the stuffing coming out).

Fed the beasts, took a shower, then made a green monster. I'm a nice kitty mommy and don't turn on the blender while they are eating since they hate loud noises.

By request...a pic of my haircut. The cut looks the same, I just got color done. I should have taken a pic on Saturday, I have ZERO patience for doing my own hair, so it never looks as good.
Pardon my messy kitchen.

I have my Starbizzle FREE PASTRY coupon printed out. For those on the West Coast you have until 10:30 to get your free pastry. :) I'm going to stop and get mine on the way to the airport. :)

ALSO! Make sure to vote for Danica's Nectarine Raspberry Sorbet over fresh fruit! She's in the top 5 for the myrecipes.net best summer dessert contest! The contest ends on THURSDAY!

Manic Monday!

Okay not really. But the weekend was pretty busy. My eating choices weren't always the best but I did manage to abstain from alcohol, which is something that is a huge trigger point for poor eating decisions for me. It's like a double whammy, not only do you get all the added calories from the alcohol (plus the water retention) but then Taco Bell sounds gourmet and you want to eat about 10 dang quesadillas. Who else is with me on this?

Work is busy today, I have a co-worker out on vacay for a few weeks. But I like being busy. I took a little extra time and did my workout at lunch today, tomorrow is super busy so I have to have a run EARLY in the morning.

Today's workout:

Cardio warmup: 7 minutes (.92 miles I think). Plus 3 minutes cooldown.

Lat pulldowns: 3x10 @ 75lbs
DB Chest press: 3x10 @ 35lb dbs (my arms were shaking)
DB Shoulder press: 3x8 @ 20lb dbs (my arms were too tired to go for 10 reps)

Cardio: 7 minutes (.95 miles) Plus 3 minutes cooldown

Standing barbell Upright Row: 3x10 @ 40lb
Cross body shoulder raises: 3x10 @ 8lb dbs (I can't actually find a pic of this, it's like a snatch motion with a lateral raise). I'll keep looking and update if I find one. LOL

Cardio: 17 minutes (2.2 miles approx). 5 minutes cooldown

I slept a lot last night, I only got 6 hours of crappy sleep on Saturday night. Last night I seriously was dosing off between 7:30 - 9:00 and finally fell asleep at 9 for good. Woke up at 6:00 feeling great.

Eats:

2 cups of coffee

Oatmeal (1/2c oats, 3/4 c water, 1/2 mashed banana, 1/2TB natural PB, and a couple of melted chocolate chips + 2TB ff cow's milk).

Mid morning snack was a PB cup Green Monster.

Lunch was a leftover Black Bean burger from last week (with a little pepperjack cheese melted on top to hold it together) with guac, spinach, and tomato on a Orowheat whole wheat sandwich thin. A bunch of grapes and a handful of pistachios.

This post officially sucks because there is no picture...so I shall pick something random out of the My Pictures folder to entertain all 7.75 readers.

First two images are of course courtesy of LOLCats.



I have NO idea where I got the pic of Mark Mangino and Obie (the Syracuse Orange mascot). Maybe here?

Friday Almuerzo

I got up at 5:45 for my mile repeats this morning, my legs felt like bricks to be honest. I didn't get 8 hours of sleep last night, whether that played into it or not I don't know. What I do know is that I felt like I weighed 400lbs, but my times were less than last week so I obviously pushed through it but I never felt great during my run. I have the stats on my Garmin but they are upstairs, will upload a pic in a bit. I did 3 mile repeats and then a cooldown of a slow 1.5 miles (I just kinda kept going, it was a beautiful morning and there was a beautiful hawk sitting on the fence by the track, so I was intrigued by him/her when it left, I left LOL).

I came home, gave the cats breakfast. Once they were done eating I made a Green Monster (Chocolate PB cup style, soooo good).

Morning snack was 1/2c 0% Fage, 1/2c Kashi go lean crunch, last of my strawberries all sliced up.

Lunch was leftover chicken/beans/corn from last night into a flat out with some hummus and pepperjack cheese like a dang quesadilla. And the last of my riceworks Sweet Chili brown rice chips (it's mostly crumbs though, sadness). I'm sure I'll have some grapes after for dessert.

Never mind our crappy coffee table, I'm watching some fine tv (Real World: Cancun) on the DVR.

Freebie alert: Print this out for a free pastry (with beverage purchase) from their new line on 7/21! Starbucks is debuting their newly remastered pastries, I'm excited about the changes they've made. :)

Changes include: no trans fat, no artificial ingredient and no high fructose/corn syrup. I'll be stopping by for sure. :)

I can't think of anything better...

Nice title, right? I don't think anyone reads them anyways.

So I actually woke up before my alarm went off this morning (only 4 minutes early). Which is surprising because it was far less than my usual 8 hours. I strapped up with my gear and took off for a run. My intention was to take it super slow this morning, which is good because my body didn't want to go any faster. I didn't think about it, but I did my leg workout yesterday afternoon and I finished at 5:15pm. I left for my run at 5:50am, yeah barely more than 12 hours of rest.

I also didn't eat anything before I left, but I really don't think they played into it. One thing I've noticed is that when I workout first thing I don't drink as much coffee (if any). I did drink one cup this morning after my delicious Green Monster (chocolate peanut butter cup style).

I have to leave at 9:30 for a 10:30am meeting, I'll probably be home at 1:30pm. I have a quick Costco stop I'll make on the way home because I need more spinach, and I will drive right by a Costco. I'm trying to figure out what food to take with me to eat during my meeting. Probably a wrap and some grapes. I'm already the weird food person and I rarely go into the office. The last lunch time meeting we had there was pizza, I took a bar of some sort to eat while everyone else had pizza. I made a deal with myself that if it was GOOD pizza I would eat some (like Pagliacci, for the Seattle locals). But if it was crap like Domino's I would eat the bar. Yeah, it didn't look good so I ate the bar.

I don't think I look overly skinny (I hate that word btw) because I do carry a lot of muscle mass (especially around my shoulders) but I got some comments like "you need to eat some pizza, put some meat on your bones". Ahh, typical "Lazy B" culture...

I digress, I suppose I should do some work before I leave. ;)

The Best Laid Plans...

So I had actually planned to lunch/relax during my lunch break today. Unfortunately for me it didn't happen. :( I decided to spend my time chopping veggies for tonight's dinner, I'm heading to the gym after work and it's nice to be able to just throw dinner on the stove after I get home and shower. By then my stomach is usually about to start eating itself. While chopping veggies, the DH called and needed computer help so I was multi tasking. UGH...but here is the cute kitty pic of Cooper and Jada yesterday. We have this ugly as sin old Ikea chair that they love to sleep on (they also have a heated cat bed that detects their weight and activates, but I unplugged it for the Summer). Spoiled little beasts!

Breakfast was what I call the GI Jane Green Monster. It came out Army Green today. Lots of spinach, blueberries, and strawberries. LOL. It tasted amazing though!

Morning snack was 1/2c 0% Fage, 1/2c Kashi Go Lean Crunch (Honey Almond Flax), and some sliced strawberries.

For lunch I heated up one of my leftover black bean burgers for a wrap. A wrap is much better because they are super fragile.


Leftover roasted sweet potato wedges

And a bunch of camera shy grapes that I am currently munching on as I type this (and listen to a conference call). I cannot wait for my workout this afternoon, I have a feeling it's going to be a good one.

There are some fantastic giveaways right now!

Some compression shorts and amazing running socks @ Run To The Finish.

Kelly from Every Gym's Nightmare has an amazing Artisana nut butter giveaway.

Busy Worker Bee

So I've been meaning to post since before lunch but I've been too busy with work, every time I clear something off my plate something else comes up. Tuesdays are always busy for me at my job, it's the day I have to answer all support queries for our project so it's a lot of email all day long. I was happy that I got my run in at lunch (I pretty much cleared my plate and marked myself away for lunch as fast as possible LOL). I'm happy that I shaved about 5 seconds off my time for the hilly mile. But otherwise my times are almost identical to the times I ran this route at a few weeks ago.


So I was going to post last night after I made the black bean burgers...but I was really just too pissy and wanted to wallow in self pity. First I blended the peppers and onions together, which resulted in an epic failure because I blended too much and it was liquefied. A food processor is really necessary for this. Next time I'd just saute the peppers and onions and call it good. So to try to save my mixture I added ANOTHER can of beans and another scoop of oatmeal. It helped but they were still a little soft.

Well to add insult to injury I was slicing a sweet potato for oven fries, and a couple of baby reds for DH and I freaking cut my finger with the sharp knife. Right around the finger nail bed. BRILLIANT! Stupid thing wouldn't freaking stop bleeding, it didn't hurt but was just an annoyance. So yeah, all I wanted to do was feel sorry for myself. I had my burger on an Orowheat sandwich thin (my first time with one), some TJ's guacamole and tomato. The flavor of the burgers was outstanding (I used cumin, chili powder, and Tapatio hot sauce). I can't wait to make them again and recitfy the issues I had.

I had a delicious Green Monster for breakfast (along with my java). Morning snack was pre-run fuel (Rainier Organic bakery cinnamon raisin toast with TB of Almond butter).

Lunch was a wrap (morningstar farms, hummus, tomato, avocado, cucumber, and spinach), some rice works sweet chili chips, and a bunch of grapes.

I have a cute cat picture but I don't have time to upload it now (have to use my other computer), but I will post it later. :) Work beckons.....the things we do for a paycheck!

Sleep!

Yeah last night I slept like crap, I took a long nap yesterday afternoon so I know that factored in. There was also a cop that pulled someone over right in front of our house flashing his lights in the window. I went to bed at like 9:30 and finally feel asleep around midnight I'd guess, got up a few times and used the computer to try to make my eyes tired. This rarely happens to me anymore, and it is usually when DH is gone (which he wasn't last night). As a kid I had a lot of sleep issues, horrible insomnia all the way through high school. College wasn't an issue because I rarely went to bed before 3am, and was always exhausted when my head hit the pillow. Usually I don't have an issue with sleep now but when I do I get so frustrated, and it only makes it worse because I want to sleep so badly. Sometimes I think that I might try melatonin but I don't know if it is worth it since it's usually only when DH is gone.

So I got up this morning and thought I had a doctor's appointment in Seattle with my cardiologist. I had a couple of cups of coffee and a most delicious GM. It was ugly looking!

1 cup of nonfat cow's milk
1 scoop ON vanilla whey
4 cups of spinach
1TB almond butter
4 strawberries
1/4 cup of frozen blueberries
1/4 cup of frozen raspberries
1/2 frozen banana
1.5c of crushed ice

This one was a total winner!

My appointment ended up getting rescheduled because my cardiologist had an emergency patient. I already had the time scheduled off so I decided to just take the afternoon off. :)

Ate a slice of Rainier Organic Bakery cinnamon raisin toast with some almond butter for a pre-workout snack. This toast is tasty, mostly the same as Ezekial but was a lot cheaper at TJ's and is also a local bakery! SCORE!

I had an insane workout today and I freaking loved it. I used Gina's Summer Shape up Week 9.

Warmup: 2 miles @ 15:34. 5 minute cooldown

Assisted pull up 1x10 @ 30lbs assist. 1x10 @ 35lbs assist. 1x10 @ 54lbs assist focusing on negatives to really build my back.
Unilateral shoulder press 3x10 each side w/ 15lb db. Love these, and my shoulders feel so much better this week after a full week on the new mattress. Next week I'm going to bump back up to what I was lifting before.
Walk out push up 3x10 (I hate these...really, HATE...)
Cardio blast- mountain climbers (1 minute)
double-arm dumbbell raise 3x10 @ 20lb db
incline fly press-out combo (can do on the floor instead) 3x10 @ 15lb dbs on an incline bench
medicine ball pullover 3x10 w/ 15 lb medicine ball.

3x25 stability ball crunches

Cardio: 20 minutes on treadmill. Roughly 2.6 miles. 5 minute cooldown.

I threw some lunch together when I got home (was famished). Spinach salad with hummus, cucumber, and tomato. And a crack wrap (flat out, hummus, a little jalepeno cheese).

I LOVE LOVE LOVE these new Nike dri fit tanks I picked up, I hate wearing shirts with sleeves when I work out. These are cut perfect, are nice and long in length (helps a lot when doing pushups and such). Sports Authority near me had them on sale for $15.99 through 7/18 (normally $20.99). I might have to go pick up a few more in some other colors.

I'm looking forward to dinner tonight. Both Danica and Megan have made black bean burgers lately, so I'm going to make some tonight! Yum!

Whit is a fan of giving, so make sure to go enter her birthday giveaway. So much good stuff!

TGIF!

Ahhh happy Friday all! I was looking out my office window this morning and saw the following:

Very low, I hope everything was okay with it though there is a park on the other side of the trees so maybe they were just putting it down there. We see a lot of balloons here in the summer, they are so pretty. :)

I had one of my most delicious Green Monsters this morning. I think it was the fresh spinach I bought last night...it was my regular PB cup but it just tasted perfect.

I had a boring snack a few hours later, oats sounded good. I made a bowl that consisted of: 1/2c of quick oats, 1/2 mashed banana, drizzle of unsweetened vanilla almond breeze. It was tasty, though boring looking. :)

After that I hit the gym for an early lunch. I did day 6 of Gina's Summer shape up. I had to make it fast so I did very little rest between sets.

Warmup: 1 mile @ 7:53. 3 minutes of gradual cooldown.

rope pressdown - 3x10 @ 50lbs
Cross chest dumbbell curl - 3x10 @ 17.5lb dumbbells (each arm)
Prestretch triceps extension - 3x10 @ 10lb dbs

Cardio blast: 8 minutes on treadmill variety hill program @ 7.0 mph. 3 minute cooldown.

Tricep pushups - 3x10 full push ups, not on the knees like in the vid.
Dumbbell hammer curl - 3x10 @ 15lb dbs.

Cardio: 13 minutes at around an 8 minute mile. 5 minute cooldown.

I was super hungry when I got home....I made another quesadilla with the crappy fake chicken (it smells really bad cooking, can you tell I am not a fan?)

And a delicious spinach salad with mushrooms, cucumber, tomatoes, and hummus.

And a unpictured bowl of red grapes that I'm eating right now.

I can't wait for the weekend! Though I have to get up early tomorrow morning to do mile repeats (ugh).

Blah

So I set the alarm to get up at 5:45 this morning to run before work....THAT didn't happen. I got up and re-set alarm for 6:30 and went back to bed with Cooper. Had the two cups of coffee like usual, and a PURPLE monster. I had to throw away a few cups of spinach because it went bad (I just bought it on Sunday...grrr). So I only had like 3 cups for my monster, and I forgot to put nut butter in. Doh.


Contents included:

• 1 scoop vanilla whey protein
• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 4 sliced strawberries
• 1/2 frozen banana
• 3 cups of spinach
• 1/2c of frozen blueberries
• 1.5c of crushed ice
  

It definitely didn't have the sticking power without the fat from the nut butter. :( I really want to get some macadamia nut butter for smoothies, to try to replicate a white chocolate mac nut smoothie. How freakin good would THAT be?

I had a snack around 10:30 of a Kashi trail mix bar and some pistachios (to make up the fat I was missing).

I headed out for a run around 11:30 when my meetings were finished. I'm such a dumbass, I forgot to start my Garmin so I'm missing about a quarter of a mile of time/distance. :( I was really feeling my leg workout from yesterday, I felt exhausted, and wanted to quit...but I was on a loop that takes me far from home so quitting wasn't an option (muahahahaha).


I took a quick shower when I got back, and made some lunch. NOTHING sounded good today, but I was starving. I tried out the MorningStar grillers chicken burger (not the one that is breaded). It looks like it is new since I can't find it on their website. It's not super good, I put it in a flat out with some hummus, shredded pepper jack cheese, black beans, and corn like a dang quesadilla.


To be honest the breaded style "chicken" burger is leaps and bounds better, I don't think I'll buy these again. Fortunately the hummus hid most of the weird taste. I was so hungry I forgot to take a pic. :(

Off to finish the rest of my work day and go to Costco for more spinach.

Wednesday

I'd like to say I was too busy to post today, but really just too lazy. I more or less eat the same stuff every day until dinner time, I'd like to say I mix it up but really I find stuff I like and eat it until I get tired of it. Fortunately since I started blogging I noticed that a lot of people are the same way. I think it is the convenience factor. Anyways...I started my day off with two cups of coffee and then made a sludge monster.

• 1 scoop of ON vanilla whey protein powder
• 1 cup of vanilla unsweetened Almond Breeze
• 4 sliced strawberries
• 4 cups of spinach (the spinach I bought at Costco is going bad FAST this week)
• 1/2c of frozen blueberries
• 1 TB almond butter
• 1/2 frozen banana
• 1.5c crushed ice

My morning snack was 1/2c 0% Fage, 6 sliced strawberries.

LUNCH, I was really craving sweet potato fries but we are out of sweet potatoes (cry). Fortunately I had bought a bag of organic red potatoes for DH so I sliced one of those up and baked it with some cayenne pepper. Pretty good, but still not a sweet potato. I also made a wrap today: 1 morningstar burger, hummus, spinach (gotta use it fast), 1/4 'cado, 1/4 tomato. I even grilled it today. Fancy pants!

Hopefully you all have noticed that the quality of my pictures is improving, I started to use my digital camera instead of my craptastic cell camera. Of course this also contributes to the laziness of my posts, see my desktop computer that I use most of the day has no reader for the memory card...so I'm posting now with my laptop since it has the little reader built in. Yeah, I'm lazy.

I grazed a bit for my afternoon snack, I had 6 cubes of fresh pineapple, a few TJ's chocolatey cats (whatever was left in the tub, like 6). Right as I left for the gym I had a Kashi trail mix bar (no pic).

Here is my workout today. I did Gina's summer shape up day 2.

Warmup: 1 mile @ 8:02 + 3 minutes cooldown.

split squats 1x10 @ 20lb dumbbells. 2x10 @ 15lb dbs.
Pilates side leg lift 1x30 each side
Pike up with the ball 3x10 - these are HARD
Seated calf raise 3x12 @ 100lbs

Cardio: Hill intervals
0-1:00 7.0mph 0.0 incline
1:00-2:00 7mph 3.0 incline
2:00 - 3:00 7.0mph 0.0 incline
3:00 - 4:00 7mph 4.0 incline
4:00 - 5:00 7.0mph 0.0 incline
5:00 - 6:00 6.5mph 6.0 incline
6:00 - 7:00 7.0mph 0.0 incline
7:00 - 8:00 7.0mph 6.0 incline
3 minute cooldown

leg extension 3x10 @ 75lbs (legs were TIIIRED after hills)
stability ball hamstring curl 3x12 (I love doing these, I hold for a few seconds at the top)
Weighted plie with calf raise 3x12 with a 30lb db

Cardio: 14 minutes on the elliptical at varying resistence (7-13) and varying crossramp (between 6-13). 5 minute cooldown and stretch.

After that I made dinner. I was totally wanting a big ol taco salad. I poached a few chix breasts early in the day so that all I had to do was shred and cook in seasonings at dinner time.


In my salad: 1 shredded chix breast, 2 cups of mixed greens, 1/2 tomato, handful of corn, a lot of salsa, a little plain yogurt, a little shredded pepper jack cheese, and 1/2 c of black beans...oh and a handful of riceworks sweet chili chips for a little crunch.

And with this I leave you with some random pics that I found on my camera!

Jada!

Cooper! This picture was actually on the local news, they have a morning "pet walk" forecast, and I submitted this picture for Apple Cup petwalk last year. I still have the clip saved on our DVR, such a proud kitty mommy.

And a pic from our last trip to Maui (February 2009), this is at the Ho'okipa Lookout on the North shore of Maui. This is a big windsurfing spot, though none where there the day we stopped in.

Aloha!

Happy Monday

Since our new mattress is being delivered this afternoon I got up with the hubby at 4:45 and went to the gym. I had to pry myself out of bed, but once I was done with my workout I was glad that I did. I had 1/2 a banana with a little bit of almond butter in between (like a sandwich).

Workout:

Warm up: 1 mile @ 7:59, 4 minute "cooldown"

Stability ball chest press 3x10 @ 30lb dumbbells
DB Deltoid lateral raises 3x10 @ 12.5lb dbs (keeping the weight down since I have shoulder pain)
High Row 3x10 @ 60lbs (I do mine with both arms)

Cardio blast: Intervals.
1 minute @ 6.5mph
1 minute @ 9.0 mph
multiply times 4
3 minute "cooldown"

Stability ball push up 3x10
Front DB raises 3x10 @ 12.5 (again keeping weight down grr)

Cardio:
2.25 miles @ 17 minutes

I came home and took a shower and immediately made a Sludge/poop/green monster.

I'm going to get through the rest of my Google reader and get some work done. Here is a cute pic of Cooper trying to keep cool over the weekend. I love to rub that tummy. :)

Happy 4th of July!

It's another hot one here in Seattle, already in the 80's. I got up pretty early (7am) and had a cup of java and some Kashi Go Lean cinnamon & honey oatmeal with a spoonful of TJ's almond butter. Let that settle for a bit and decided to hit the track and do mile repeats for the first time ever. I decided before I left that I would do 3 miles, it is a half mile to get to the track so I walked it (since it is straight up a hill mostly). For me about an 8:15-8:30 mile is comfy, although I drop about 15 seconds off my mile if there is a big hill. So after talking with the hubs (who used to be a very good distance runner) I decided I'd make sure to keep my laps under 2:00 for my first time doing repeats. I did pretty good, with the exception of one of my 1st quarter miles. Also, it was all in the sun as there is ZERO shade at this track so I had to rest in the sun too but I put a bunch of ice cubes in some water in my hand held and took off.

As you can see on the chart, my first half mile was the walk to the track. Each lap listed with 5 minutes is my rest. I did 3 mile repeats, and then cooled down with a very, very, very slow jog around the track twice, and then walked home. Any suggestions for me? I'm thinking I will do 3 mile repeats once a week through July, then in August bump up to 4 miles. Does this sound right? I really want to get faster.


After that I came home and uploaded my Garmin and had a light breakfast (I'm out of spinach, boo). I had 1/2c of 0% Fage, 1 crushed Kashi honey almond flax bar, and about 6 sliced strawberries. The hubs wanted to hit Starbucks so I went with him and had a grande light vanilla coffee frap. Yum.

Ok off to enjoy my day! We're going up to Brian and Debra's this afternoon to bbq, hopefully everyone likes the treats I made last night. I was sweating over a hot oven to make them, literally.

Happy 4th of July!!

Holiday.....

Okay first, there are some amazing giveaways again today!

Danica is giving away a big Amazing Greens gift pack!

Erica at I Run Because I Can is giving away a sweet looking duffel.

This is going to be quick because I want to get showered and enjoy my day!

I had a cup of coffee and a quick bowl of Kashi Go Lean honey cinnamon oatmeal w/ scoop of AB before heading to the gym.

Workout:

warmup: 10 minutes on treadmill, didn't keep track of mileage (crappy memory)

Did most of Gina's Summer Shape up workout.

Biceps and triceps

Dumbbell hammer curl 3x10 @ 17.5lbs
reverse plank (hold 30-45 seconds) 3 times for 45 seconds
standing triceps extension 3x10 @ 20lbs
Cardio- 8 minute sprints (1 min @ 6.5mph, 1 min @ 9.0mph. repeat 4 times)

Straight bar cable bicep curl 3x10 @ 40lbs
Dip machine w/ assist 2x10 @ 24lbs assist, 1x8 @ 12lbs assist (failure)
long arm crunch 3x15
Cardio- 2.5 miles in 20 minutes 5 minute cooldown

I came home and made a Grey sludge monster to get some quick protein into my body, I didn't put any almond butter in today since I had some in my oats.

Okay I'm off!!! Enjoy your holiday weekend. :)

Yawn

It is so nice here in the Seattle area, and the forecast for the weekend is just as amazing. We rarely get nice weather for the 4th of July it seems so I'm super happy!

I got up a little early this morning because I had to be in Kirkland @ 7:30 when the lab opened for my blood work. I hit zero traffic and was out of there by 7:45. I ate another Luna Lemon Zest bar after they took my blood (Cullen?), Amanda @ Run To The Finish asked earlier what I thought of these bars. I love most anything lemon and these are no exception. They have the perfect lemony taste, and the texture is very light (almost reminds me of a rice krispy treat with a frosting). The macros aren't bad, but I don't think they are super great. Honestly, for 180 calories I'd like a little more than 9g of protein. However, I love the taste so I have them from time to time. :)

I was happy to be back home by a little after 8 and able to start my work day. I was also happy to have coffee finally (fasting = no coffee = grumpy Danielle). I made another Green Monster again today (same combo I've had all week) but I think I went a little lighter on the blueberries and it turned a greyish color. Whatevs, it still tasted good.

Around 11:30 I was feeling good despite them taking my blood so I thought I'd have a short run today, yeah my body said otherwise after one hill. Since I was already pretty far from home I just stuck it out, which may not have been my most brilliant move ever but the stats from my Garmin aren't nearly as bad as I thought they'd be.
I'm pretty tired now so I think I'm going to take a nap after work lol.

After my run I did a few planks.
2x 60 seconds regular plank
2x 60 seconds right-side plank
2x 60 seconds left-side plank

Then I had my usual lunch wrap, a handful of baby carrots, and 1 bunch of grapes. I just have to make it another 90 minutes at work and then it's three day weekend time! Woo hoo! I'm definitely going to take a quick nap when I'm done working, then I need to run to the store to get stuff to make some treats for the 4th of July BBQ we're going to at Brian and Debra's. :)

Wednesday

I woke up this morning and felt a little tired, not sure why since I was at probably about 7.5 hours of sleep last night. Started off with a two cups of java with vanilla creamer, caught up on email (work and personal), and watched the news. Apparently there was an earthquake overnight, of course the local news beats the drum forever and finds every bored person that wants to talk to them on the news. That got old FAST. After I finished my coffee I made my Green Monster, which was a greyish color, I also screwed up the texture by blending the ice too long. I had spilled something on the floor and was trying to clean it up. Ooops. Into the GM went the following:

1 cup unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze
1 scoop of ON vanilla whey protein powder
1/2 frozen banana
1/2 c frozen blueberries
5 small strawberries
4 cups of baby spinach
1.5 c of crushed ice

I ended up helping my coworker with some benchmarking for installation of our new software package, going to finish that up this afternoon for some fun times.

Morning snack was: 1/2c of 0% Fage, 6 small sliced strawberries, crumbled Kashi TLC honey almond flax bar

For lunch I was craving sweet potato fries something fierce, so I quartered up a sweet potato, tossed it with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a little sea salt, and some chili powder. Put them on a baking sheet and baked for 25 minutes at 400 to be honest they were too mushy, I tried to put them under the broiler for a few minutes but they didn't crisp up. OH WELL, I still ate them with some ketchup.

I also had a salad of some baby spinach, 1/4 red pepper, 2 sliced mushrooms, and 2TB of Sabra's sundried tomato crack and a MorningStar tomato basil pizza burger.
Followed by a bowl of red seedless grapes (not pictured).

Trying to figure out a good pre-workout snack for later before my workout. I'm going to make it a good one because I'm not sure that I will run tomorrow. I have to get some blood work done first thing in the morning (and have to fast...joy). Sometimes my iron levels are super out of wack after that so I'll just see what my body feels like tomorrow. :) Maybe a big GM when I get home will pump me back up with iron.

I wish I could join Cooper in a nap....